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A report released Thursday by Irvine, Calif.- based RealtyTrac shows Illinois with 42,176 foreclosure filings from July through September. On a monthly basis, Illinois foreclosures dropped 20 percent in September compared to August. Arizona and California also have foreclosure rates higher than Illinois.

LAS VEGAS-- Nevada's foreclosure rate remains fifth in the nation after big drops in activity compared with last year. RealtyTrac reports Thursday that Nevada's September foreclosure rate is down 19 percent from August and down more than 75 percent from the same time last year. That rate fell behind Florida, California, Illinois and Arizona.

NEW YORK-- Safeway Inc. said Thursday that its profit margin slipped in the third quarter as it spent money on launching a new customer loyalty program, an investment the supermarket operator said should drive sales going forward. The sale of Safeway's Genuardi's chain helped offset the declines and pushed the company's net income up 21 percent.

PLEASANTON, Calif.-- Heart device maker Thoratec on Thursday said it promoted Taylor C. Harris to chief financial officer. Thoratec, based in Pleasanton, Calif., makes HeartMate pumps, which are used in patients who are waiting for a heart transplant or for those who are too sick to have heart transplant surgery.

NEW YORK-- Safeway Inc. says its net income rose 21 percent in the third quarter as it benefited from the sale of its Genuardi's stores. The Pleasanton, Calif.- based company, which also operates Vons, Dominick's and other grocery chains, says it earned $157 million, or 66 cents per share, in the period. That compares with $130.2 million, or 38 cents per share, a year ago.

Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc. has raised about $70.4 million in its initial public offering of 4.4 million shares. The Calabasas, Calif., company, which is developing an injectable treatment for double chins, priced its IPO at $16 per share, or the top end of its estimated range.

NEW YORK-- Williams-Sonoma's potential for international expansion could position the company for solid sales growth in the near and long term, William Blair as it raised its rating on the upscale home goods company.

DALLAS-- A federal judge in Texas has sentenced a man to 23 years in prison and ordered him to pay $13 million in restitution over an investment scam he ran out of his home in California. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that 37- year-old Bradley Stark, formerly of Riverside, Calif., was sentenced on seven counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud.

CAMPBELL, Calif.-- Online real estate company Move Inc. has purchased Relocation.com for $11.5 million in cash in order to strengthen its offerings and moving services. Move Inc. shares closed at $8.37 per share on Wednesday. Its shares are down 17 percent from their 52- week high of $10.06 set on March 26.

Oct 11- Stan Lee Media, a company that says it controls the rights to Marvel characters including Spider Man and Iron Man, has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Colorado against the Walt Disney Co seeking "billions of dollars of profits." Disney acquired Marvel Enterprises, which had been renamed Marvel Entertainment, in 2009 for $4.3 billion.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11- The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits slid last week to the lowest level in more than four and a half years, according to government data that may provide a boost to President Barack Obama a month before voters go to the polls.

AVONDALE, Penn., Oct 11- The Federal Reserve's stated intention to keep interest rates ultra low for nearly three more years is suggesting to some that the Fed is willing to cut the jobless rate at the expense of higher inflation, putting the central bank's credibility at risk, a top official of the U.S. central bank said on Thursday.

NEW YORK-- Safeway Inc. is betting that its investment in a new customer loyalty program will eventually pay off, as the supermarket operator looks to fend off big-box retailers and other competitors that are expanding their grocery aisles.